Trump did not give a timeline for trip, which would make him the first US president to visit the country since 1997.
Published On 13 Feb 2026
Donald Trump has said he plans to become the first sitting United States president to visit Venezuela in nearly three decades.
Trump made the statement to reporters on Friday as he departed White House for the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina, where he met soldiers involved in the US abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
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“I’m going to make a visit to Venezuela,” Trump said. He offered few details on the planned visit, telling reporters “we haven’t decided” on a date.
Still, the trip would make Trump the first sitting US president since Bill Clinton in 1997 to visit the South American country, which Trump had targeted with crippling sanctions from his first term of 2017 to 2021.
Earlier this week, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright became the first member of Trump’s cabinet to visit Venezuela and meet the government led by Maduro’s replacement, Delcy Rodriguez.
Trump has repeatedly praised Rodriguez, Maduro’s former deputy, while downplaying the prospect of supporting an opposition figure in the wake of Maduro’s abduction.
“They’ve done a great job,” Trump again said on Friday. “The oil is coming out, and a lot of money is being paid.”
For her part, Rodriguez has overseen several concessions to the US, including freezing oil shipments to Cuba, supporting a law to open the state-controlled oil industry to foreign companies, and releasing hundreds of political prisoners.
On Thursday, lawmakers in Venezuela’s parliament debated a bill that would grant amnesty to political prisoners, although it had not passed by Friday.
Easing of sanctions
Also on Friday, the US Department of the Treasury announced it was easing some sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector, the largest